


The Touch of Starlight

by Kaiyou



Series: Weaving Life Verse [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Magic, Pining, bokuto and kenma are friends, bokuto and kuroo are friends too, fae, onesided bokuaka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:03:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9050869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiyou/pseuds/Kaiyou
Summary: Bokuto was lost in adoration for the night spirit that had miraculously appeared in their court and agreed to be his partner. Despite how well they worked together in matches, however, he still felt only as close to Akaashi as he felt to the stars in the sky.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [passionatememes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/passionatememes/gifts).



> Secret Santa Gift for @passionatememes for the fyhaikyuu gift exchange! Hope you like! Happy Holidays!
> 
> It's linked to "Dance Me To The End Of Love" but can be read independently.

Akaashi was darkness and starlight. He was a sharper black than Kuroo, who was normally all fluffy velvet. No, Akaashi was quiet and deadly, strung as tight as the bowstring his fingers were pulling as he aimed at the target, arrow perfectly balanced against his bow. Bokuto loved the curve of Akaashi’s fingers - especially when they were wrapped around his own when they bonded during a game, calling down the wind and storm that was Bokuto’s birthright and mixing it with Akaashi’s light turned into lightning. Akaashi’s mind was incredible. Bokuto could ride its currents for hours, bringing down the fullness of his power and knowing Akaashi would aim it so that Bokuto could pinpoint their opponents’ most vulnerable spots and land the perfect hit. His heart sang whenever they were together. His heart sang just watching Akaashi breathe in, pausing at the perfect moment with the string pulled back taut as he aimed for the target and let -

“Does Akaashi know you’re watching him?”

Bokuto jumped, fingers curled around the bark of the branch he was perched upon. Luckily he was able to bite back the scream that threatened to rise in his throat, and he didn’t sprout feathers. Kenma probably wouldn’t’ve teased him about the feathers but acting like a hatchling was always mortifying.

“What - why are you up here?” he asked, turning and looking at the branch behind him. Kenma was leaning against the trunk of the tree, fingers tapping on that human device he liked so much. 

“Akaashi asked me to keep an eye out for stalkers,” he said, not looking up.

Bokuto gasped, then frowned. “No, he didn’t.”

Kenma glanced over with cat-gold eyes. “Maybe he should’ve.”

“I’m not stalking him,” Bokuto said with a pout. “I’m just...”

He turned back around, looking down to where Akaashi was letting loose another silver arrow. It flew through the air and hit the target just to the left of dead center. Akaashi frowned, and Bokuto felt himself mirroring the expression.

A quiet huff sounded from behind him, but Bokuto knew Kenma was just teasing. 

Kenma wasn’t like Kuroo and Akaashi. He wasn’t dark at all. Kenma was golden and light, even if he held that light inside most of the time.

“So what are you doing?” Bokuto asked, looking back up at him.

Shrugging, Kenma hunched deeper into his baggy red jacket. “Communing.”

“Hiding,” Bokuto guessed, laughing softly at the scowl that crossed Kenma’s face. Looking at him more closely Bokuto caught echoes of green magic curling around Kenma’s arms.

Foreign magic. Human magic. Bokuto knew that Kenma could more than handle himself, but Kuroo was less than thrilled at Kenma’s recent hobbies.

Bokuto had grown up with both of them in the Seelie court of Fukurodani. Nekomata had brought his group of younglings in when Bokuto was just a hatchling. Apart from his nestmates, Kuroo had been his very first friend - an all-black kitten, then. They’d spent hours stuck in trees because Kuroo couldn’t get down and Bokuto wasn’t sure how to fly instead of fall. Kenma had spent most of his time hiding back then. Partially because he was so sensitive to everyone’s magic, but also because he was stubborn. It had taken a lot of coaxing on Kuroo’s part to get him to come play with the rest of them. Once he did, though - well. Bokuto's hatchmates and Nekomata's younglings quickly grew to adore him, and anyone else who underestimated the black-gold fae only did it once.

Kuroo and Kenma playing together made the strongest pair in the whole court, what with the way Kenma’s magic drew out Kuroo’s shadow magic and made it real. When they’d teamed up with Nekomata’s other fae, they had ruled all the games. 

Then Akaashi had joined the court a few seasons ago, earning the queen’s trust and being accepted into her guard. When he had chosen to team up with Bokuto it had been life-changing. For the first time, Bokuto had a partner who knew and understood him and all the chaotic ways his magic worked. Bokuto wasn’t just a problem someone had to deal with - when Akaashi was backing him, Bokuto shone. Now, Bokuto’s clutch was the team to beat, more often than not able to snatch victory away from Kuroo and the rest.

The best part about it was that Kuroo was never really mad when Bokuto and Akaashi beat them. He just vowed to work harder with Kenma to get even stronger - much to Kenma’s chagrin.

“He’s looking for you, isn’t he?” Bokuto asked, grinning as he turned and saw Kuroo walk up to Akaashi with a scowl on his face. 

“Probably. Are you going to tell on me?”

The answer to that was easy. Even if Kuroo was his best friend, Bokuto wouldn’t pick sides between him and Kuroo. 

Turning back, Bokuto saw Akaashi shake his head at whatever Kuroo was saying. For a split second Bokuto thought he caught his partner glancing quickly at the edge of the forest toward their tree, but it was probably just coincidence.

“I won’t tell on you,” Bokuto said. “Well, as long as you don’t tell on me.”

“You really think Akaashi doesn’t know you’re here?”

“What?” Bokuto squawked, turning to look at Kenma in disbelief.

Akaashi - knew? 

Akaashi - could he tell he was - 

Breath rose and fell in Bokuto’s chest as he tried to contain himself. If Akaashi caught him it would be terrifying, because Akaashi was perfect. Akaashi was darkness and starlight and hard and dangerous and beautiful and - oh. Kenma was laughing, shoulders shaking with almost-silent huffs of breath. Laughing because of Bokuto.

Slumping, Bokuto felt the branch next to him dip a bit as Kenma crawled down next to him. “Does he really know I’m watching him?” Bokuto asked.

“Ah, probably,” Kenma said. “It’s Akaashi. You’re his partner. He considers it critical to have a thorough knowledge of your movements, it wouldn’t surprise me if he could accurately predict your location at any time of the day.”

“Oh.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Everything about Akaashi matters,” Bokuto muttered, anxiety welling up inside him. If Akaashi knew - how much longer before he asked to switch partners, or went away altogether. “He’s the best partner I’ve ever had. The only one who I’ve really clicked with. What if he -”

“Hush, Bo,” Kenma said, hand brushing down Bokuto’s arm, fingers carding through the soft down that had sprung up with his swirl of emotions. “You and Akaashi do work well together. If he had a problem with you he’d tell you, right?”

“Maybe,” Bokuto whined. 

“In my experience, he’s fairly straightforward.”

Bokuto’s lips quirked at that, distracted from his worries by memories of the two of them together. Kenma and Akaashi had spent weeks slinking around each other at first until they figured out an equilibrium. Kuroo had found the whole thing hilarious.

Then Kenma had started hanging out with the humans, and Kuroo was much less amused. 

“I guess,” Bokuto said, shrugging. “I just - he’s so perfect, you know?”

The expression on Kenma’s face turned sour. “So you’ve said.”

“You don’t think so? But - but he’s elegant, and smart, and -”

“Beautiful, and talented, and pairs with you in a way that lets you beat me and Kuroo, and -”

“I didn’t know you thought so highly of me, Kozume-san.”

“- coming up here as we speak.”

Bokuto’s eyes widened as he looked up to where Akaashi had silently landed on the branch in front of them, looking from him to Kenma and back again as he rubbed his arms. The fuzzy feathers had gone back in, thankfully. It wasn’t like Akaashi would judge him. Still, Bokuto always wanted to always look his best in front of his partner. Akaashi was older, after all - timeless and elemental. His human form was flawless, the perfect container for the spirit of night. His nature showed in the curls of his black hair and the depths of his eyes, but it was always in control. 

Bokuto had no clue how he’d been lucky enough to get Akaashi as a partner. No one even knew why such a fae would want to join their small court. They had far more contact with the human world than most night spirits ever stooped to, and most of them were active during the day, playing around rather than involving themselves in the harshness of fae politics. 

For some reason, though, Akaashi had chosen to leave the starlight court and come petition for membership in their own. Only he and Queen Shirofuku knew why, and Yukie had refused to tell him even after he tried to bribe her with red-bean onigiri. It was a mystery. One of the many mysteries of Akaashi.

“Should I even try to guess what the two of you are doing up here?” Akaashi asked, giving Bokuto a look filled that made him feel completely out of his element.

“I'm hiding,” Kenma said. “Bokuto is helping.”

Turning, Bokuto looked at Kenma with wide-eyed gratitude.

“Is he now,” Akaashi said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced between them. “What a good friend.”

Was he buying it? He probably wasn't buying it. Bokuto was pretty sure he wasn't buying it.

“He’s also helping me overcome my fear of heights,” Kenma said. As far as Bokuto knew, Kenma had no fear of heights, though he normally didn’t climb trees. He was perched on the branch with both hands on the gaming device, completely calm and collected. Bokuto could see coils of the green magic connecting him and the tree. That might have been part of why he felt so secure. Whoever his new human was, it seemed a bit of his magic was rubbing off on Kenma - either that or the plant was reaching out to him because it resonated with the remnants left behind. Magical theory wasn’t really his strong suit.

He was sure Akaashi would know.

“And here I thought Kuroo-san was the kind one,” said Akaashi.

“Akaaaashi! I can be kind!” Bokuto exclaimed, wanting to sulk at all the teasing.

Kenma’s head bent down, shoulders shaking. “They both have their moments.”

“I suppose,” Akaashi said, giving Bokuto a long look.

He wasn’t sure how to interpret that look. If Kenma had given him that look, it would’ve been fondness. Kenma was often fond, often exasperated, sometimes a mix of the two. But Kenma wasn’t Akaashi. Was it wishful thinking?

“However, you should probably go find your partner before he throws a hissy fit over your absence, Kozume-san. You remember what Lev was like the last time that happened.”

The scrunched up face Kenma made in response was horrid. “Don’t remind me.”

Akaashi laughed. Akaashi’s laughter was thunder softened by a gentle spring rain. It was layers upon layers of sound, beauty overlying strength. Bokuto wanted to bottle the sound, play it in his dreams, listen to it whenever the weight of all his worries threatened to overcome him because that laughter was joy and life and Akaashi.

“Go on then, or he’ll start to actually get worried. You wouldn't want him to get in in his head that you’ve gone off without telling him, right?”

“Such a pain,” Kenma said.

Bokuto watched him, worried for a moment. He knew things between his two friends had been difficult as of late. Things would resolve themselves, they always did. Kenma and Kuroo were perfect together like one breath following another, always in sync. It was a normal thing for Kenma to wander to the human world once in a while, he'd done it since they were kids. Normally, Kuroo was patient about it. He was always balanced between giving Kenma his freedom and worrying, chasing after him when he’d stayed away too long. After the incident with that kid Fukunaga, Bokuto supposed Kuroo had a right to worry, but Kenma was older now. He could take care of himself, and Kuroo knew it - heck, he’d even liked Hinata and the friendship that Kenma had struck up with that human. He tolerated Sugawara too, but for some reason, this new person had raised Kuroo’s hackles from the first time they’d met. 

Reaching over, Bokuto squeezed Kenma’s shoulder. The other fae gave him a wan smile before his face hardened into a look of determination. Giving a short nod he said, “See ya,” as he dropped down from the tree, landing in a light roll before strolling off.

And then, Bokuto and Akaashi were alone, and the air felt heavy.

Bokuto swallowed, looking down at his hands.

“I saw the queen earlier,” Akaashi said. “She told me to ask you about some loan you promised to pay back?”

Wincing, Bokuto shrugged. “Oh, that, yeah.” He and Yukie had been out shopping in the human world - well, really he’d been escorting her because it wasn’t right for the queen to be out in the human world all alone but she always insisted she didn’t need an escort so he wasn’t guarding her, he was shopping with her. He didn’t really like buying things from humans. Everything had a weird metallic scent to it that made him all itchy, and then there were all the little boxes that played screechy music that gave him a headache. For Yukie, though, he’d do just about anything.

And then - the incident. The whole thing hadn’t been his fault, either, not really - that shopkeeper had placed his aisles too close together, and then that tiny dog had realized what Bokuto was and come up to attack his ankles, and then the mugs - well. It wasn’t Bokuto’s fault that the mugs were that precariously balanced. 

He hadn’t even realized what had happened until the sound of shattered ceramic had filled the air. After that everything was chaos - the shopkeeper yelling, the dog’s owner grabbing him away like Bokuto was the one who had threatened her precious pooch, and Yukie in the corner laughing at it all. Of course, he didn’t have any money - why would he need money? However, Yukie was an honorable queen - and was addicted to the red bean buns the shopkeeper’s neighbor sold - so she’d paid for the mugs.

And now he had to figure out some way to pay her back.

“Thanks for letting me know, Akaashi,” Bokuto said, glancing up at him. Akaashi wasn’t looking at him, instead staring down at his long, elegant fingers as he pressed them together.

“It is not a problem, Bokuto-san. If you are in need of assistance -”

“What? No! No, it’s fine. I’ll get it,” Bokuto said, wilting again at how Akaashi was witness to his ineptitude. It was probably why Akaashi wouldn’t even look at him - how embarrassing it must be to have Bokuto as a partner. Seething anxiety coiled in Bokuto’s stomach as the awkwardness between them became almost palpable. He sucked in a breath, rubbing his arms to keep the feathers at bay as he tried to figure out how to apologize.

But it was Akaashi who broke the silence. “I’m not going to betray her,” he murmured.

“Eh?”

“The queen,” Akaashi said, still looking down at his hands. “I know I’m still new, and that I come from a court you weren’t so friendly with - but I’m here because I want to be. I’m loyal to her, and to you. I’m not here to infiltrate, and I’m not plotting anything. You don’t have to keep watch on me. I wish you could just trust me - you’re a horrible spy, anyway.”

“Akaashi,” Bokuto whispered, trying to process what had just been said. His heart hurt as he realized how badly the brilliant Akaashi had misread what it meant that Bokuto and Kenma were watching him from the trees. No, no, Akaashi wasn’t supposed to think - “I do trust you.”

Akaashi stiffened up even further, eyes narrowing he looked up at Bokuto. “Really? Then why are you spying on me?”

“Eh? Ah,” Bokuto said, unable to take the anger and vulnerability in those deep green eyes. He glanced away, not knowing what to say. Didn’t know how to lie, or use the truth in a way that diverted attention from the real truth. He wasn’t like Kuroo, who could spin a story that made a person question why they’d even asked a question in the first place, Neither was he like Konoha, able to bluff in such a way that made people turn questions back on themselves. Deception of any kind felt wrong. Akaashi was hurting and Bokuto was at fault, and all he had to offer was the plain and simple truth. “I like you,” he mumbled.

Akaashi frowned at him, taking in a breath before his expression hardened into a mask of indifference. “I admire you as well, Bokuto-san,” he said.

Oh that was bad. Did Akaashi think he was lying? Did Akaashi not understand? He had to make him understand, even if he got upset. At least then he’d be mad for the right reason. Looking straight at Akaashi, Bokuto said, “I mean, I really like you, Akaashi. That’s why I was, uh.”

Words failed him as his brain caught up to his words and he realized he’d not only confessed, but confessed again. Heart pounding ran a hand through his hair, feeling the stiffness of feathers. Would Akaashi get it this time? What would he think? How could Bokuto even think he had the right to feel this way - and oh, he’d also just admitted that was why he was watching Akaashi. Now he really was was going to hate him.

Did he hate him?

Taking a chance Bokuto looked at Akaashi, only to see - was he blushing?

Bokuto blinked. Oh. Wow. 

He’d never seen Akaashi look like that before.

“Oh,” Akaashi said, looking to the side.

Starlight-pale skin was now suffused with pale pink. Akaashi’s eyes were soft, lips parted. It was like the finest sword had blossomed into the most beautiful flower that Bokuto had ever known. Those long fingers were twisting around themselves, body curled, one shoulder higher than the other like Akaashi was uncertain - so lovely.

Wait, why was Akaashi uncertain? Panicking, Bokuto tried to think of the words to fix it. “Ah ah - it’s not that I’m following you around all the time, Akaashi! I’m not watching you sleep or anything weird like that. It’s just your form when you do archery is really, really beautiful.”

Akaashi grimaced, fingers tightening, breath making his chest rise and fall. Was this what Akaashi looked like when he was upset? Bokuto keened internally, wondering what he could do to make Akaashi feel better.

“Is it really,” Akaashi said, voice smaller than Bokuto had ever heard, “is it really weird to watch people sleep?”

Blinking, Bokuto tried to process that. “Uh, I thought you’d think - I mean, I don’t find it weird if people watch me sleep, though that time when Kuroo painted my cheeks with rainbow dust and didn’t tell me until we went down to breakfast and everyone saw, that was a pretty bad morning.”

“You’re such an idiot sometimes,” Akaashi said, chuckling in such a way that Bokuto didn’t feel offended.

“Yeah,” Bokuto agreed, leaning towards him. He didn’t want Akaashi to think he was stupid, but at least Akaashi was smiling now, a smile Bokuto had never seen. It was soft, his eyes crinkling at the corners. A smile that made Bokuto feel like he was the center of Akaashi’s universe, even for a moment. He wanted to see more like it in the future.

Then the smile fell, and Akaashi looked down.

“I've watched you sleep sometimes,” Akaashi murmured. “Since, well. For a long time, if I’m honest. You caught my attention one night when I was out wandering, back when I was still with the starlight court. At first, it was so strange, an owl sleeping at night. I was curious. Then I watched you during the day, and you were strong, and kind, and loyal. But sometimes people didn’t see all the good things about you. Sometimes the others treated you poorly or said things that made you sad. It hurt. It especially hurt when I saw you looking alone even when you were with your friends. You were too bright and good to feel so lonely. It wasn’t right. For me, it was natural - I’d always been alone. I knew how much it hurt. It's inevitable for me though, I stopped fighting it a long time ago. But then I saw you, and -”

Bokuto swallowed, watching with wide eyes as Akaashi broke off his speech. His own cheeks were probably red by now, and feathers had fluffed up on his arms but he didn’t even care. “Akaashi?” he asked, wanting his partner to finish that sentence, wanting to know, wanting to make sure he wasn’t misreading things.

Biting his bottom lip, Akaashi said, “I was selfish, so I decided to see if I could be the one by your side. I came to this court for you, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto’s heart stopped.

What was this. What was this feeling. What was this - Akaashi, his Akaashi, this man who made Bokuto happier than he’d ever been just by his mere existence, this man who was more beautiful than anyone he’d ever known, this elegant, untamed, wildly powerful spirit - Akaashi had come to court for him? Had just confessed to him? He wanted to pinch himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream, but no. This was real. 

“Akaashi,” Bokuto breathed out, “Akaashi, you can stay by my side forever!”

Akaashi laughed, eyes crinkling as he looked up at him with a smile that contained so many emotions Bokuto couldn’t sort them out. Joy, amusement, exasperation, vulnerability, and more - all good. He was pretty sure they were good.

Just to make sure, he added, “You can even sleep with me if it makes you happy, I don’t care. You can watch me all you want!”

More laughter came as a response to that, and Akaashi covered his face for a moment, trying to compose himself. “I would like that, I think,” Akaashi murmured. That was definitely fondness in his gaze now - though fondness turned to worry. “Ah, though I should tell you, Bokuto-san, that I don’t....”

“What, Akaashi?” Bokuto asked, wanting to soothe the lines away from Akaashi’s forehead.

“I should tell you - there are some things I don’t like to, ah. It’s hard to explain,” Akaashi said, the side of bottom lip pulled back between his teeth as he furrowed his brow and fell silent

There were words behind the silence. Words Bokuto didn’t understand, words Akaashi didn’t know how to tell him.

Yet.

He wouldn’t push. For now, it didn’t matter. If they needed to be said someday, they would.

“Whatever it is, you’re still Akaashi,” Bokuto said. “You love to eat. You love beating Kuroo at chess. You enjoy making Kenma laugh even if you two act like you’re at each other’s throats all the time. You hate having tangles in your hair, you want to eviscerate anyone who’s mean to children, you don’t like direct sunlight and you love to watch the moon in the water. All these likes and dislikes are a part of what make you so wonderful, so if you have another dislike I don’t know about it’s just another part of Akaashi, and Akaashi is amazing to me.”

“Bokuto,” Akaashi murmured. His voice was higher than usual, soft and warm and fluffy and filled with good things. Evidently, Akaashi wasn’t always hard and sharp, at least not with him. That knowledge filled Bokuto with inexplicable pride and joy.

Then he laughed delightedly, realizing the word that Akaashi had said in that wonderful tone of voice. “You dropped the honorific,” Bokuto said, grinning. 

“Ah, I did. I apologize.”

“No, no! It’s fine! I wouldn’t even mind if you called me Koutarou,” he replied, giddiness spreading to his fingers.

A tiny smile curled Akaashi’s lips. “I may,” he said. “Sometimes. Under special circumstances.”

Grinning, Bokuto said, “I want to have special circumstances with you, Akaashi.”

“Someday, perhaps.”

Akaashi was blushing again.

Bokuto thought it was fabulous.

“I want a lot of somedays with you too,” Bokuto declared, pushing his luck.

At that, Akaashi just laughed, and the look in his eyes made Bokuto want to puff out his wings. Akaashi liked him. Really liked him, Bokuto, the guy most other people just put up with out of kindness. But not Akaashi! Akaashi had come to the court to be with him. This beautiful creature made of darkness and starlight and brilliance liked him and thought he was interesting and never wanted him to be alone. It was incredible.

Incredible, but amazing, and oh so good.

Akaashi’s stomach growled, and Bokuto laughed, reaching out a hand. “Can I take you out to dinner, Akaashi?” he asked.

“Take me out to dinner?” Akaashi asked, tilting his head to the side with a look of confusion. 

“Humans, ah - it’s what humans say, when they ask someone to go on a date? I think,” Bo said, scratching the back of his head.

For a moment Akaashi’s brow furrowed again. “Date?” he asked, pursing his lips, eyes opening wider in understanding. “Ah! Courtship rituals. Yes. Ha, Yes, you may take me to dinner, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto beamed as Akaashi slipped through the air and landed on his branch, taking his hand. The long fingers were cool as they pressed into his, rough with calluses, the strength of Akaashi’s magic thrumming just under the skin. It called to Bokuto’s own, wind roiling around them and stirring up the leaves.

But today, they wouldn’t be calling a storm.

No, today was a day for peace. 

And lots and lots of food.

Hopefully, meat.


End file.
